1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to telecommunications and, more particularly, to systems and methods for providing a call back option to callers of a call center.
2. Description of the Background
A conventional call center is a central place where customer and other telephone calls are handled by an organization, usually with some amount of computer automation. Typically, a call center has the ability to handle a considerable volume of calls at the same time, to screen calls and forward them to someone qualified to handle them (agents), and to log calls. Call centers are used by mail-order catalog organizations, telemarketing companies, computer product help desks, and any large organization that uses the telephone to sell or service products and services.
Conventional call centers typically include an automatic call distributor (ACD) for distributing incoming calls to the call center to available and suitable agents for the purpose of addressing the caller's needs. Often the organization disseminates a single directory number associated for the call center. As customer calls are directed to the call center by the telephone network, the ACD ordinarily directs the calls to the agents based upon some algorithm, typically based on availability. When no suitable agents are available, the calls are routed to queues where the caller waits for the next suitable and available agent.
The resources, however, of conventional ACDs and call centers are not unlimited. As a result, customers calling during periods of high call volume for the call center often have to wait, in their opinion, for unacceptably long period of times to be connected to an agent. Customers obviously do not appreciate this because it is perceived as a waste of their time. Moreover, call centers do not appreciate this because their customers become frustrated and because it ties up their phone lines. Furthermore, if the call waiting queues reach capacity, customers are simply unable to reach the call center, and the call center has no way of determining how many calls it lost because of the overloaded condition.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a manner in which callers to a call center may be serviced without wasting the caller's time and without usurping the resources of the call center.